Aside from the global chip crisis, logistical issues caused by the pandemic, and the rising value of cryptocurrency, another factor that has caused the price of graphics cards to skyrocket is Trump-era tariffs imposed on Chinese-made goods. To address the latter issue, Nvidia and Zotac are urging the Biden administration to exempt cards from the surcharge.
According to PCMag, the companies requested the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, which is considering reinstating exemptions on some tariff-exempt items. Nvidia specifically mentioned the lack of GPU manufacturing outside of China, which means the cards face a 25% import tariff.
“The products are not manufactured in the US and only limited amounts in Taiwan. Efforts to create new capacity in countries that presently do not manufacture such products (such as the US and Vietnam) were unsuccessful and were severely hampered by the fallout from COVID-19,” Nvidia said.
Nvidia continued to emphasize the pandemic’s effect on the GPU industry. “The ability to move the supply chain and/or increase volume in other countries was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in terms of the severe constraints in cargo/air freight capacity, the ability to operate facilities in people-intensive manufacturing, and the ability to find and hire qualified employees trained in such manufacturing,” it added.
Zotac told the agency that, despite working with a contract manufacturer in Taiwan to build its products, it still relies on China to turn raw materials into components, citing a lack of alternative sources.
HP is another company that has emphasized China’s significance as a primary source of imports. “The products HP sources are not currently produced elsewhere at sufficient capacity, quality, and compatibility needed,” the company told the USTR.
Other tech titans, such as Apple, Google, and Intel, have also filed comments urging the USTR to exempt certain Chinese-made electronic goods from tariffs.
The decision to exempt an item will be based on whether the product is only available in China and “whether or not reinstating the exclusion will impact or result in severe economic harm to the commenter or other US interests, including the impact on small businesses, employment, manufacturing output, and critical supply chains in the United States,” according to the USTR.
Even if the tariffs are lifted, we don’t know when or if this will be reflected in the retail prices of the cards. But it’s something we could use right now, especially since the Radeon RX 6000 series is set to become even more expensive.
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